"He believed the dog was immortal." So begins Susan Orlean’s sweeping, powerfully moving story of Rin Tin Tin’s journey from orphaned puppy to movie star and international icon. From the moment in 1918 when Corporal Lee Duncan discovers Rin Tin Tin on a World War I battlefield, he recognizes something in the pup that he needs to share with the world. Rin Tin Tin’s improbable introduction to Hollywood leads to the dog’s first blockbuster film and, over time, the many radio programs, movies, and television shows that follow.

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Publisher's Summary

"He believed the dog was immortal."

So begins Susan Orlean’s sweeping, powerfully moving story of Rin Tin Tin’s journey from orphaned puppy to movie star and international icon. From the moment in 1918 when Corporal Lee Duncan discovers Rin Tin Tin on a World War I battlefield, he recognizes something in the pup that he needs to share with the world. Rin Tin Tin’s improbable introduction to Hollywood leads to the dog’s first blockbuster film and, over time, the many radio programs, movies, and television shows that follow. The canine hero’s legacy is cemented by Duncan and a small group of others who devote their lives to keeping him and his descendants alive.

At its heart, Rin Tin Tin is a poignant exploration of the enduring bond between humans and animals. But it is also a richly textured history of 20th-century entertainment and entrepreneurship and the changing role of dogs in the American family and society.

Almost 10 years in the making, Susan Orlean’s first original book since The Orchid Thief is a tour de force of history, human interest, and masterful storytelling - the ultimate must-listen for anyone who loves great dogs or great yarns.

What the Critics Say

“Move over Seabiscuit, Rin Tin Tin will be the most-talked-about animal hero of the year and beyond.... A spectacularly compelling portrait.... Engrossing, dynamic, and affecting.” (Booklist)

"Rin Tin Tin was more than a dog. He embodied the core paradoxes of the American ideal: He was a loner who was also a faithful companion, a brave fighter who was also vulnerable. I was astonished to learn from this delightful book that he has existed for eleven generations over a century. By chronicling his amazing ups and downs, Susan Orlean has produced a hugely entertaining and unforgettable reading experience." (Walter Isaacson, author of Benjamin Franklin and Einstein)

Would you consider the audio edition of Rin Tin Tin to be better than the print version?

No. The author should have bowed out to a more competent narrator. Her nasal and dispassionate reading really detracts from an interesting story. Frankly, she sounds somewhat bored with her own story!

What did you like best about this story?

The WWI information about how dogs were utilized was very interesting.

Would you be willing to try another one of Susan Orlean???s performances?

No

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

No

Any additional comments?

I only listened to about a third of this book and couldn't cope with the substandard narration. I went to the library and checked it out because I wanted to finish the book. Much more enjoyable to read in print. The narration really ruined it for me.

I usually love this type of book using popular culture to bring history alive. this was boring, poorly written, poorly organized. I thought Orleans was an acclaimed writer..as I was listening there were so many points where she could have made this a great story, but it read like a term paper, a list of chronological events.

What could Susan Orlean have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Better research, bring your characters to life, put me in the historical context, give the book a real narrative voice.

Would you be willing to try another one of Susan Orlean’s performances?

No. Bad decision to have the author read, really flat performance.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Rin Tin Tin?

I would have made lee a real person, made this into a story. As it is, it was repetitive and flat. There's really good narrative nonfiction being written (Boys in the Boat being a recent great one)., this one isn't in the same league.

Probably not, although with some incisive editing, she could be a decent story-teller.I'm with an earlier viewer with regard to the amount of tangents and the mind-numbing minutiae. The Ann Frank anecdotal digression was interesting, as were a few others, but overall, meh To be fair, I don't remember "Rinty", and as this was a book group selection, it wouldn't have been a title that I'd have chosen on my own.

How could the performance have been better?

Hire a professional actor/narrator to read a skillfully edited version.

This is the first book I've read by Susan Orlean, so I don't know if this is a typical example of her writing. I was surprised by how rambling the chapters were, as if the author were giving us a history of everything associated with Rin Tin Tin and not just the dog himself. We learn about pioneers in dog obedience, the Army's use of dogs, and the movie industry to name but a few of the detours we take on the way to unraveling Rin Tin Tin's history.

Where the book suffers the most is in the narration. Susan Orlean delivers ever line of the novel in a flat monotone. She even reads off lines that relay her "excitement" and "surprise" with the same deadening rhythm that she might tick off a grocery list. If there had been a more spirited narration I would have looked forward to the winding road Orlean was taking me on, rather than trudging through the chapters because I'd already bought the book.

I wasn’t going to review this book, until I noticed all of the downer reviews that it had gotten. First off, this is not a dramatic reading of a work of fiction… it is a nonfiction book about the legacy of a "dog", so I liked that the author was also the narrator and told her own story. Secondly, I actually listened to a half hour interview with the author before I picked up this book, so I gave it really high marks because it was exactly what she said it was; a book talking about the idea and legacy of a "dog" (there has been more than one Rin Tin Tin) and the people who have cared about "him." Normally I would not buy or listen to a biography about an animal so I cannot honestly say if it is a good work in that genera, but it does show the interesting changes in America, and in the film/TV industry. So, if you are interested in changes in society, and how people have viewed dogs in the 20th century this will be a good book for you. If you are interested in early film and tv, and the idea of "celebrity" you may want to take a look. If you want a warm fuzzy dog story, you might be disappointed.

There is way too much in here about the author and the people who breed Rin Tin Tin descendants.. To me it is like watching a TV show about hoarders. These people are obsessive, but that does not make them interesting.

What could Susan Orlean have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

If the author had been told to write the story with half the pages, the book surely would have been three times better. Information about the dogs that were in Hollywood was relevant and relatively important. I do not care why the author became obseessive about Rin Tin Tin - enough.

Any additional comments?

I only finsihed the book because we were discussing it at our book club, but it was painful.

There is way too much in here about the author and the people who breed Rin Tin Tin descendants.. To me it is like watching a TV show about hoarders. These people are obsessive, but that does not make them interesting.

What could Susan Orlean have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

If the author had been told to write the story with half the pages, the book surely would have been three times better. Information about the dogs that were in Hollywood was relevant and relatively important. I do not care why the author became obseessive about Rin Tin Tin - enough.

Any additional comments?

I only finsihed the book because we were discussing it at our book club, but it was painful.

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